Lot of differing opinions on this. Many think that upfiring is louder than down-firing. Both my current box and my previous one is/was down-firing. To me it presents a full bass presence and puts the bass right up on the stage. This go round, I built my box for a single 10W7, and made sure I had at least 4" from the floor of the truck to the spkr. baffle, to prevent overloading the driver. It works quite well, and I am very happy with the response.